Bobby Rainey's Poor Week 3 Performance Makes Doug Martin Better Fantasy Asset

Fantasy football pundits sang the praises of Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey after a strong Week 2 showing, but his Week 3 performance made it clear that he can't be relied upon on a weekly basis.

The Bucs were embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night in the form of a 56-14 shellacking. Many players must shoulder the blame for the one-sided defeat, but Rainey is near the top of the list.

He lost a pair of fumbles, which the Falcons had no issue cashing in on. Rainey's statistical output ultimately wasn't terrible, as he caught seven passes and racked up 105 total yards, but there is reason to be concerned about his usage moving forward.

After the brutal defeat, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith placed a ton of emphasis on protecting the ball, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:

"

Turnovers really ruin some of the good things we're trying to do. Bobby's a good runner but you can't turn the ball over. We get a takeaway and turn it over on the same play—how many times does that happen? Fumbled snap, just too many things we did wrong today to have a chance to win. If you do that many things, you get embarrassed the way we did tonight.

"

Smith also made his feelings regarding turnovers quite clear during the game. Per Around The NFL, Rainey was disciplined in the form of sitting on the sidelines after fumbling:

Rainey had some good showings last season, but he wasn't on the fantasy radar of most people entering 2014. That changed in Week 2, when he started for the injured Doug Martin. Rainey rushed for 144 yards and added another 30 through the air in a sparkling performance against the St. Louis Rams.

When we learned Thursday that Martin's knee injury would keep him out of action for the second week in a row, Rainey looked like an ideal flex play against a questionable Falcons defense.

Martin missed 10 games last season, which resulted in Rainey eventually becoming Tampa's primary back. He had a penchant for alternating impressive and putrid showings, which is precisely what happened between last week and this week.

John Hansen of SiriusXM Fantasy Football even came up with a creative name for that phenomenon:

It is may seem difficult to trust Martin much more than Rainey at this point, due to his durability issues, but one can only assume Smith will lean in the Muscle Hamster's direction when he's healthy.

Martin had nearly 1,900 total yards and 12 touchdowns two seasons ago as a rookie. He took a huge step back in 2013 before getting hurt, and he didn't do much of anything in the 2014 opener. One area in which Martin has never struggled, though, is ball security.

In fact, he has lost just one fumble in his NFL career thus far. After watching Rainey lose two Thursday night, ESPN.com's Christopher Harris quipped that Martin was the main beneficiary:

Nothing has been working for the Bucs offense through the season's first three weeks, which means Smith will have to make some drastic changes. A quarterback change from Josh McCown to Mike Glennon is possible, but utilizing Martin as the top back is the most obvious move.

That is contingent upon Martin's health, but he will have extra time to heal prior to Week 4. The decision regarding whether to sit or play him in Week 3 came down to the wire, so conventional wisdom suggests he should be able to go next week.

If that is the case, then Martin will be the fantasy back to own in Tampa Bay rather than Rainey. The Buccaneers can't afford to play mistake-prone football at this point, so Rainey's fantasy value is certain to take a major hit.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter